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The Spinning Jenny
The spinning jenny reduced the amount of work needed to produce yarn. James Hargreaves's invention made the textile industry more effiecient by reducing the cost of this process. -
Carbonated Water
Due to Joseph Priestley's high interest in chemistry, he decided to infuse carbon with water, making carbonated water or in today's terms, "club soda"; this lead to discoveries of the carbonation of other fluids. -
The Electric Telegraph
The electric telegraph was invented by Georges Louis Lesgae; it was a new form of long-distance communication. -
The Flush Toilet
The first flush toilet was invented by Alexander Cummings. This diminished the use of chamber pots and cleaned up many of the highly populated streets in larger cities. Before, contents of the chamber pots were thrown into the streets, but with the flush toilet as a cleaner way to dispose of waste, environments remained cleaner. -
The Guillotine
This was invented by Dr. Joseph Ignace Guilloting; it was a more effiecient and painless way of excecution (decapitation). The guillotine was very popularly used during the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution. -
The Cotton Gin
Eli Whittney invented and patened the first cotton gin in 1793, however there is controversy over who officially invented the first one. Whittney's edition was able to clean 50 pounds of lint per day; this greatly effected the rate and price of the production of cotton as it was quicker and cheaper to produce because the process required less work than before. -
The Match
The first "friction match" was invented by the English chemist and druggist, John Walker. He mixed several chemicals like phosphate and sulfur and ignited them by scraping them against sand paper. People were interested, however, there were several defects that needed to be worked out, leading to them initially being banned in France and Germany. -
The Revolver
Samuel Colt invented the "Colt" revolver; it could fire 5 to 6 shots with it's revolving cylinder. Before the Colt revolver, there were only single or double shot hand-held firearms. This effected warfare as countries began to develop further on this product and create more advanced technology like the machine gun. -
The Dishwasher
The dishwasher was pattened by Joel Houghton; it started off as a hand-operating wheel. Because it was not very effective and took a lot of work, it was later replaced by an automatic washer in 1889. -
The Bunsen Burner
Robert William Bunsen invented the first Bunsen Burner for chemically-based scientific experiments. This invention provided a safe source of heat for science experiments and would revolutionalize science as it was now easier to perform more difficult tasks without the violation of safety procedures. -
Dynamite
Dynamite, discovered/invented by Alfred Nobel, had many purposes. Because Alfred worked in construction, so he found use in in for blowing up rock, etc. to clear areas. Later, it was used in war. -
The Motion Picture (And Camera)
Obviously, the motion picture was a step up from the still shot. Because of the cinematographe and its portable and processable film, people were able to capture events easier. Without this invention, many things wouldn't be possible today. -
The Submarine
During the American Revolution, the first submarine was used for war purposes. Warfare then became more effective as these massive ships could travel at record depths and speeds to attack enemies. David Bushnell created the first submarine with enough room to have one passenger; it was called "Turtle". -
The Traffic Light
The first traffic light was invented by J.P Knight from the United Kingdom. It directed traffic for several days until it exploded; however, even though the first light was defective, inventors used it as a prototype for traffic lights we use now everywhere in the world that continue to direct traffic safely every second of every day. -
Barbed Wire
Due to the desperate need of cheaper fencing material on the American frontier, Joseph Farewell Gidden invented barbed wire (sometimes yet less often called "bob wire"). Because the prices of wood and stone were increasing, people needed a cheaper way to protect their livestock and land. Barbed wire was also seen used again in WWII. -
The Fountain Pen
Luis Waterman created the first fountain pen; instead of repeatedly dipping the pen in ink, the ink was already filled in the pen. -
The Escalator
The "moving staircase" was invented by Jesse Reno. It consisted of a conveyor belt attatched to wedged supports, carrying its passengers to the top. -
The Zipper
The "clasp locker" was invented by W.L Judson, an American engineer. This greatly revolutionized clothing, shoes, bags, and many other items. This allowed people to more securely store their things; eventually the zipper was continously improved to the zipper we have today. -
The Vacuum Cleaner
This door-to-door service was invented by John Thurman. It was carried by horses for $4 service; this invention would be later improved by Herbert Cecil Booth later on. -
The Airplane
After many years of continuous research, Wilbur and Orville (the Wright brothers) finally succesfully invented the airplane. They made their first attempts in 1899, but the first airplane took flight in 1903.
